Hawaiian hotshot Liko Arreola not feeling the pressure on worlds debut

The road to a World Archery Championships is long for any archer, but Liko Arreola’s journey to Berlin is more arduous than most.

The 16-year-old has already grabbed headlines in her short archery career to date, becoming the youngest individual winner of a stage of the Hyundai Archery World Cup in Medellin last month aged just 15 years and 330 days.

It was the dream senior international debut for the Hawaiian, who had already made a name for herself at major indoor tournaments in the US, winning the Vegas Shoot in back-to-back years at the ages of 13 and 14.

Expectations for the 2023 Hyundai World Archery Championships are now raised as a result.

But if there is extra pressure, the teenager is not feeling it ahead of her world championship debut – the latest summit of a fledgling career marked by a rapid ascent against the odds.

“Right now, I just want to practice and get my shot, but there's no expectations for me,” she said. “I just want to do the best I can and execute my shots.”

“I have some experience, not too much but this is my third time travelling internationally so I'm very excited about this one. It seems really nice over here. I really like it right now.”

The expected wet and windy conditions during the week in Berlin will be a marked contrast to the more tropical climes of her Hawaiian home. But Arreola is more than used to difficult conditions, having grown up in Hawaii where there are few facilities befitting of her achievements.

And while her early showings were indoors, Arreola is already showing that she has the ability to go up against the best outdoors, too.

“I feel like the rain is more challenging for me since I don’t really practice in the rain, I do so in the wind,” she said. “But the rain is more challenging.”

“My dad says go just do the best I can and wherever it goes, it goes.”

“Switching from indoor to outdoor is a bit of a change since there's wind and rain,” she added. “But by making little changes to my executions I can get my shots really accurate.”

The advice of Arreola’s dad will likely be ringing in her ears on the range this week, with the teenager coached by her father after her interest in the sport was sparked by an unusual source.

“He’s been training me all these years and helping me,” she added. “I started archery when I was around six years old, I got into it more after watching the Disney movie Brave and my parents got me my first bow at six.”

“I started my first tournament when I was seven and got more interested in the sport and my parents have been very supportive so I'm really grateful for that.”

Regardless of how Arreola fares in Germany, the teenager has already made waves in the sport at such a young age.

And the 16-year-old is hopeful she can continue to put the sport on the map back home in Hawaii.

“Back where I live in Maui there isn’t a lot of things, there is not even a range, so we have to travel to a different part of Hawaii, which is Honolulu, to even shoot,” she said. That’s a different island.

“It’s really expensive so mostly I practice in my backyard. It’s becoming more popular and hopefully, we will get a range back where we live.”

In a campaign for facilities, a big result in Berlin would surely help her cause.